The House of Silk ~ Anthony Horowitz

The House of Silk is the first Sherlock Holmes book written by Anthony Horowitz. It is set in London 1890 and Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson are put onto a case that’s much bigger than it originally seems after an art dealer asks them to help with a menacing criminal that followed him all the way from America. Holmes and Watson are drawn into an investigation that has them delving into the criminal underworld of Boston, opium dens, and the dangers of Victorian London. 

I’m a fan of Anthony Horowitz’s writing and of BBC’s Sherlock among other adaptations. However, I wasn’t a big fan of this book. I didn’t think there was anything wrong with it, just that the style wasn’t really for me. This is a slow-paced book. Keeping with tradition, it is written from Doctor Watson’s point of view, but looking back many years down the line after Sherlock’s death. Thus, each chapter tends to start with a flashback to another case or some other anecdote regarding Sherlock and it slowed down an already slow story immeasurably. To me, it felt like Horowitz was using it as a way of proving that he knew so much about the original Sherlock canon and that he was the right fit for the Estate of Arthur Conan Doyle. 

Regarding the plot, I actually enjoyed all the twists and turns that the investigation took. The case was so much bigger than the original investigation that it was impossible to figure out how big it went and where the consequences ended. I think it’s probably better to say that the first case sparked a second, much more dangerous case. The first case was a little too easy to figure out. From the moment we met the character, I knew they were the answer to the whodunnit question. As much as I like being right when guessing whodunnit in crime books, it felt too easy for something that Sherlock Holmes would be asked to solve. 

Overall, it was an alright book and if you like slow-paced crime, this is for you. However, it wasn’t my cup of tea. I gave it a generous three stars. I’ve heard that the sequel, Moriarty, is better rated so maybe one day I’ll give that a try. 

C🌙